Here’s yet another option for wirelessly mirroring your computer screen to another display, but don’t worry: This one is rather impressive. Airtame, the creation of a group of Danish folks, is an HDMI dongle that links your PC — be it running Windows, OS X or Linux — to whatever display it’s plugged into over WiFi. Installation is a breeze: All you need on the PC side is just the software, and from there you can choose which dongles to beam your screen to. Yes, dongles, because you really can beam one PC to multiple screens, thus beating Miracast. We also played a game on one of the laptops, and the response time on the remote display was surprisingly good.

As part of its presence at the Commonwealth Games, BBC Research & Development currently has a number of ultra high definition (UHD) television screens at both the Science Centre in Glasgow and New Broadcasting House in London showing live coverage of the games. These screens are open to the public for the duration of the Commonwealth Games and free to view for visitors between 10am and 5pm in Glasgow and 12 midday to 3.30pm in London.

The pictures and sound for these screens is being delivered over the internet – from capture, through the full production chain, and finally to decoders and displays in the demonstration areas. This entire process normally requires very specialised and expensive television broadcast equipment but in this case it is all being handled using normal IP networks and commercially available computing equipment. Below you can see a short video produced by R&D engineer Alia Sheikh which explains the work the department has been engaged with in this area and the reasons why BBC R&D thinks IP delivery is the future for TV delivery.

For the Commonwealth Games BBC R&D’s IP TV delivery infrastructure is spread over a number of different locations to demonstrate the flexibility that an IP based production system brings. While pictures and sound are being captured in the venues, the audio gallery providing the commentary is in London and the television production gallery is located in Glasgow. Below you can see how our IP based end to end infrastructure is spread across the UK to deliver UHD TV to our public demonstration areas.

While delivery of television by IP is on the increase, a lot of people still receive their television using traditional transmitters and receivers and will do so for some time to come. Not all of the UK has reliable high speed internet connections so alongside IP delivery, the department is also demonstrating the transmission of UHD content over the existing Digital Television Transmission (DTT) network. BBC R&D are working with the rest of the broadcasting industry to ensure that the standards exist to distribute UHD content to as many people as possible no matter the delivery method.

Motion Blur – The Challenges of UHD

Beyond the challenges of delivering UHD content to people’s homes there’s also the issue of how to get it working properly once it gets there. One challenge is that with higher visual definitions motion blur becomes more of a problem for video images, especially with fast moving subjects like the athletes at the Commonwealth Games.

One solution is to increase the frame rate of the television (the rate at which the image on screen is refreshed) from 50fps to 100fps. To sharpen motion, you can also shorten the camera shutter speed, but at conventional frame rates this leads to judder. A frame rate of 100 fps enables the eye to fuse motion in a realistic manner, even with a short shutter opening and is also high enough to avoid visible flicker. BBC R&D is involved in ongoing discussions with other European broadcasters to create standards for UHD frame rates. The image below shows a comparison of shutter speeds of 1/100 and 1/300 of a second.

Exciting New Opportunities

Along with the technical challenges IP-delivered UHD TV presents to the engineers at BBC R&D, it also provides a host of new production and editorial opportunities. One major advantage of building an IP based system is how configurable it is.

A television studio is a collection of very specialised pieces of equipment, very often with only one purpose each – a vision mixing desk for example or a preview monitor. Moving from a hardware to a software based system means that devices can be reconfigured to the needs of different production teams quickly and at little expense. The gallery production equipment in R&D’s experimental IP based television production gallery uses consumer computing hardware so a tablet can be a production schedule one day and a sound mixing desk the next. Or both. This reconfigurable nature of IP based production drastically reduces cost and increases working flexibility.

The BBC has always delivered high quality crafted television, first in black and white, then colour, using both analogue then digital delivery methods and most recently moving from standard definition to HD. UHD TV and IP based production are another evolution of the art form that provides the organisation with yet more exciting opportunities to make the best television we can and deliver it to audiences in increasingly cost effective ways. BBC Research & Development’s work ensures that when the UK is ready to switch to UHD, the BBC will be as well.

To take a look behind the scenes at a working IP television production gallery please visit us at the Glasgow Science Centre between 10am & 5pm for the duration of the Commonwealth Games. You can also watch live UHD coverage of the Commonwealth Games delivered both over IP and using digital television transmitters. Finally you can get hands on with some of the exciting new experiences that UHD video and IP delivered TV make possible including a chance to look around a 3D live video of the Hydro Stadium using the Oculus Rift headset.

Today Samsung announced the availability of its biggest curved screen TV ever. First shown at the 2014 CES, the 105-inch UN105S9W UHD 4K TV sells for $119,999.99 . Unlike Samsung’s other curved models which incorporate the HDTV and UHDTV standard 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this one uses an ultra wide panel with 2.37:1 aspect ratio. More details after the break.

Samsung has just struck a deal with Amazon and several other partners to expand its ultra high-definition (UHD) content offerings. The partnerships will give Samsung TVs access to new services including live 4K broadcasting, video-on-demand (VoD) and a long-awaited UHD video pack (at least in the UK and Europe).

4K TV, also known as Ultra-High Definition television, provides a whopping 3,840×2160 pixel resolution – four times regular Full HD. But as good as it looks, the vast majority of 4K TVs are more expensive than 1080p HDTVs, and there’s a real scarcity of native content that makes it hard to justify shelling out for one.

That conundrum means it’s in the interests of TV manufacturers to do everything they can to ensure their customers get more Ultra HD content to watch, and that’s exactly why Samsung is embracing Amazon. From October, Samsung’s UHD TVs will be able to stream content (both movies and TV shows) directly from Amazon’s on-demand video streaming service. Samsung says the service will be available “globally”, although we wouldn’t be surprised to see some countries excluded from the deal.

Amazon’s 4K Ultra HD VoD service, called Prime Instant Video, is scheduled to launch this October, and will compete with the likes of Netflix, which already offers 4K streaming, and DirecTV, which plans to stream 4K content on-demand later this year. For now it appears as though Amazon’s service will be exclusive to Samsung – although Amazon probably won’t be able to resist the temptation of selling its service to other brands once it’s up and running.

Besides Amazon, Samsung is also teaming up with content providers including Chili, Maxdome and Wuaki.tv., to provide even more 4K content. The company gave scant details of these partnerships so we can’t say for sure what countries these services will be offered too.

Finally, the Korean firm says it will show off its long-awaited “UHD video pack” at next month’s IFA show in Berlin. The video pack, which has been produced in association with Fox Home Entertainment and consists of no less than forty 4K movies including Life Of Pi and Star Trek: Into Darkness preloaded on a 500GB media player, was first teased at last January’s CES show in Las Vegas and subsequently released in the USA, but was delayed in the United Kingdom and Europe due to licensing issues. We assume that those problems have now been resolved, and that Samsung UHDTV owners on these shores can look forward to more native 4K content.

The Octava HD14CATDA allows you to distribute a HD video source to 4 High Definition displays. The Octava HD14CATDA includes 1 HDMI output for connecting a local display and 3 dual CAT6 outputs for connecting to HD displays that may be placed up to 30m(100ft) away. The Octava HD14CATDA is designed for Home and Professional installations requiring multiple Displays in multiple Zones with the ability to control the Source device using IR from each Zone. The Octava HD14CATDA allows you to distribute a HD video source to 4 High Definition displays. The Octava HD14CATDA includes 1 HDMI out put for connecting a local display and 3 dual CAT6 outputs for connecting to HD displays that may be placed up to 100ft away. The NEW Octava HD14CATDA, you can display identical image on two(2) displays from one(1) source equipment with HDMI port. Connect One HDMI sources to up two HDTV display devices maintaining 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolutions the highest HDMI single link video resolution and digital audio signal supporting HDCP compliant devices. HDMI or DVI-HDMI cables are used to connect to the input and splitter outputs. With the 1×2 hdmi splitter active output channels are displayed on the front panel LED’s , which are automatically activated when a cable is connected to the corresponding output and can be connected in series with a Cablesson 1×2 hdmi splitter for connection of a single sources to multiple display devices.

Atlona’s AT-HAD-V31 is a high performance 3×1 HDMI Switcher, but do you really think its better than Octava 4×1 HDMI Switch . Switcher has an intelligent AUTO function, which would automatically select the newly powered on source. The AT-HAD-V31 is based on the Silicon Image HDMI 1.3b chip-set and therefore capable of passing-though the highest resolutions up to 1080p. Atlona customers have asked that we include an HDMI cable with our switchers. We decided to go the extra mile and permanently attach a 6ft Pro HDMI Cable to this particular switch.

This unique 4×4 HDMI Ethernet Matrix Router has user configurable outputs. Each of the outputs can be configured for either 1) HDMI cable connection OR 2) CAT 5/ 6 Cable Connection. The Ethernet CAT 5/6 Matrix Switch is a complete HD routing solution for whole home HDTV systems. In addition, Infrared Extension allows I.R. signals to be sent from viewing area to the equipment room over CAT-5/6 Cables. Ethernet cables and connectors are easily field terminated thus allowing installers to easily install the proper length cable needed for ultimate flexibility and eliminate logistics problems of having custom length HDMI cables.

The 4×4 HDMI Matrix features 4 HDMI inputs, 4 HDMI Outputs, RS-232 control and fits in a 1RU rack mount housing for professional installations.

HDMI is the latest standard for distributing High Definition Digital Video and Audio in high def displays for 2 reasons: 1) uncompressed digital format ensures the best picture quality and 2) HDMI allows content providers to ensure that their intellectual property is protected through HDCP.

This unique HDMI over CAT 5/6 Extender includes a set of HDMI Transmitter and a HDMI Receiver and allows transmission of HDMI , Infrared IR and Optical Digital Toslink Audio over 150ft over a pair of Ethernet cables. CAT 6 cable is recommended for 1080P and best performance.

The HDMI-OCAT-IR HDMI over Ethernet Transceiver allows installers to use a pair of standard CAT 5/ 6 cables to carry HDMI, I.R. control, and Optical Digital Toslink Audio signals for simple and efficient installations. Infrared Extension allows I.R. signals to be sent from viewing area to the equipment room. Optical Audio Toslink In/ Out port is provided to extend Optical Toslink Audio signal from Source to the Surround Sound Receiver.
Ethernet cables and connectors are easily field terminated thus allowing installers to easily install the proper length cable needed for ultimate flexibility and eliminate logistics problems of having custom length HDMI cables. This unique solution enables installers to have complete
A pair of Ethernet cables is required to carry the video / audio as well as HDCP data.
Active Drive and Compensation circuitry ensures error free video transmission for the ultimate HD experience. Typical connection lengths are:300 ft ( upto 50m), ( 1080i), 150ft (1080p). Both the receiver and transmitter include an external power supply to ensure best quality performance and do not require power from the HD source.
HDMI is the latest standard for distributing High Definition Digital Video and Audio in high def displays for 2 reasons: 1) uncompressed digital format ensures the best picture quality and 2) HDMI allows content providers to ensure that their intellectual property is protected through HDCP.